1 Who we are

Our vision
The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training acts as part of the United Nations mandate to promote peace, justice, equity, poverty alleviation, and greater social cohesion. The Centre assists Member States develop policies and practices concerning education for the world of work and skills development for employability and citizenship, to achieve:

access for all

high quality, relevant and effective programmes

learning opportunities throughout life.

The International Centre contributes to increased opportunities for productive work, sustainable livelihoods, personal empowerment and socio-economic development, especially for youth, girls, women and the disadvantaged. Its emphasis is on helping meet the needs of developing countries, countries in transition and those in a post-conflict situation.

Our work

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre acts as a key component of UNESCO’s international programme on technical and vocational education and training. It also works to support UNESCO’s mandate for Education for All and Education for Sustainable Development.

The International Centre achieves this through taking action to strengthen and upgrade the worldwide UNEVOC Network (Flagship Programme), with particular reference to:

Stimulating international and regional cooperation concerning human resource development

Promoting UNESCO normative instruments and standards

Promoting good and innovative practices in TVET

Knowledge sharing

Mobilizing expertise and resources

Strengthening partnerships with other relevant agencies

Our ambition

For the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre to be recognized by UNESCO Member States, UNESCO Offices, United Nations agencies, and other partner organizations working in the field of skills development for employability and citizenship, as a truly international, effective and relevant centre of excellence in achieving our mission.

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training was established as a result of a decision taken by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999. In 2000, UNESCO and the Government of Germany signed an agreement for the hosting of the International Centre in Bonn, Germany. The inauguration ceremony took place in April 2002.

In February 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan signed a contract to develop Bonn further to become a UN city. The former governmental and parliamentary quarter in Bonn is currently converted into a UN Campus, which also includes an international conference centre.

In June 2005, 11 UN agencies located in Bonn moved to the historic parliamentary building “Langer Eugen”. Use of the premises has generously been granted free of charge by the German Government.

Other UN organizations in Bonn (http://www.bonn.de/wirtschaft_wissenschaft_internationales/uno-stadt/un_organisationen/index.html?lang=en) (website of City of Bonn)

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre is one of eight UNESCO institutes and centres (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/where-we-are/institutes-and-centres/) in the field of education. UNESCO (http://www.unesco.org) is the United Nations’ specialized agency for education, science, and culture. UNESCO's education sector (http://www.unesco.org/education) works to improve education worldwide at all levels of education through technical advice, standard setting, innovative projects, capacity-building and networking. UNESCO's education sector aims to:

Promote education as a fundamental human right;

Improve the quality of education;

Stimulate experimentation, innovation and dialogue.

UNESCO carries out its work through its headquarters in Paris, field offices (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/bfc/all-offices/) and institutes and centres (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/where-we-are/institutes-and-centres/).

TVET has been defined as one of four priority areas of UNESCO's education programme in the coming years. It is seen as an integral part of the Education for All (EFA) initiative (see TVET and EFA), especially with regards to goal 3 relating to “appropriate learning and life skills.” Through its orientation towards the world of work and the acquisition of skills it plays an essential role in promoting a country’s economic growth and contributing to poverty reduction.

A number of UNESCO staff all over the world deal with issues relating to TVET. They are located in national and regional UNESCO field offices, UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, UNESCO institutes and, of course, in the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre in Bonn, Germany.

All TVET activities of UNESCO adhere to the UNESCO TVET strategy, which was developed in 2009 and guides the organization’s work in the years 2010-2015. As UNESCO’s niche lies with its cooperation with Ministries of Education, UNESCO concentrates primarily on secondary and postsecondary TVET, as well as on TVET in non-formal settings.